Draining a pool

[jwardon]

Hi all,

I just bought a house with a pool and am having a little difficulty adapting to the new equipment. As far as I can tell the pool does not have an overflow drain. Worse, it doesn't seem to have a spigot to drain the pool. What do you recommend in the short run to drain the pool? What happens if I run the pump and remove the drain plug in the cartridge filter?

In the long run, would you recommend plumbing in a spigot or is there something else you would do?

Thanks in advance!

 

[1poolman1]

You don't want to have a large amount of water being drained and then flooding the foundation of your home by just pulling the filter drain.
A small submersible pump will do the job. This is one that you can use a garden hose to direct the flow safely away from a building:

Superior Pump 1/4 HP Submersible Thermoplastic Oil-Free Utility Pump 91014 - The Home Depot

Superior Pump 91014 1/4 HP Utility Pump - Oil Free Design. Superior Pump builds pumps that are truly built to last and are 100% factory tested. Superior Pump uses quality components including solid copper

www.homedepot.com

 

[DavidArmenB]

I do have an overflow drain but it is at the very top of the waterline tile, about 2” higher than the top of my skimmer mouth, so I just throw in a submersible pump when we have the occasional storm, such as the one we’re about to have for the next three days, dropping 5” of rain. I have the submersible pump running right now because the water level was already pretty high to begin with.

 

[Bperry]

Hi all,

I just bought a house with a pool and am having a little difficulty adapting to the new equipment. As far as I can tell the pool does not have an overflow drain. Worse, it doesn't seem to have a spigot to drain the pool. What do you recommend in the short run to drain the pool? What happens if I run the pump and remove the drain plug in the cartridge filter?

In the long run, would you recommend plumbing in a spigot or is there something else you would do?

Thanks in advance!

A question would be why do you want to drain it? They generally don’t recommend draining unless there’s a problem.

 

[Dirk]

It's very likely you don't have an overflow outlet, but then again you might. Sometimes they're not where you'd expect. Sometimes it's just a hole in the edge tile. Sometimes a small grate (like 1.5" x 4" or so) in the edge tile. Sometimes the hole is in the skimmer. Mine is an equalizer tube that exits the pool a couple feet below the surface. It looks like a return.

That said, the small pump 1poolman1 suggests is a great way to go. Having one on hand is not only good for draining, but can be used in a pinch to keep chlorine circulated if your main filter pump ever poops out. It can be days, even weeks, waiting for a replacement or a repair. I bought one just for that purpose, as a backup. It's $50-100 well spent.

When draining a pool with the main pump, you run the risk of running the pump dry, and damaging it, if the water level gets below the skimmer mouth and there is no main drain, or it's not working. It's much safer to use a separate pump.

That said, you're smart getting ahead of this. You really don't want your pool to overflow the coping, as that can cause all kinds of problems with the pool and your landscaping. If it turns out you don't have an overflow, you'll need to keep an eye on the level during bad weather. You can try "pre-draining" ahead of a big storm. Or at least placing the small pump in the pool ahead of the storm, so you don't have to set it up in the pouring rain, just plug it in.

You want to place the pump as high in the water as possible. Secure it somehow so it won't wander away. Or hang it from the side with a rope (NOT the power cord). That way, if you forget to turn it off, or get otherwise distracted, the pump will only take out so much water. It'll run dry and shut itself off (or burn out). Better that than falling back asleep in the middle of the night and waking up to an empty pool!